


The Hunters and the Haunted

by TillyWunderWing



Category: Nevermoor Series - Jessica Townsend
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Ezra’s a NASTY BOY, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitalization, I love my Wundrous children so so much, Jupidad, Jupiter is literally so pure and I luv him sm, Jupiter is such a Dad and I’m obsessed with it, Just a lil bit of depression oops, Morrigan is lowkey traumatised but aren’t we all, Nightmares, WE’RE CALLING IT JUPIDAD FIGHT ME, Whump, Wundersmith Spoilers, most of this was written at like 2am lol, who’s ready for TRAUMA?! :D
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23426848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TillyWunderWing/pseuds/TillyWunderWing
Summary: The Hunt of Smoke and Shadow are in Nevermoor, and it seems they’re not leaving anytime soon.With the city in lockdown, Morrigan realises that she might be Nevermoor’s last hope... But to keep her loved ones safe, she’s going to have to do this alone.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 60





	1. This is Not a Drill

“Strange,” Morrigan said loudly, just barely audible over the blaring alarm that tore through the hotel lobby. “It’s not like the hotel staff to run an evacuation drill this late.”

Morrigan, Jack, and Hawthorne sat in a circle, their piles of cards discarded on the tiled floor beneath them. They rubbed their three collective brain cells together for an embarrassingly long stretch of time before they were interrupted by a loud sigh from Cadence.

“Has it occurred to any of you,” she shouted, struggling to be heard through the siren, “that this may be an _actual emergency?”_

Hawthorne blinked. “That is, indeed, a possibility I had not considered...”

Jack and Morrigan shared an anxious glance. They’d seen the Deucalion go through fires, break-ins, an entire roof collapsing at one point... But neither of them had ever had to evacuate before. If Jupiter was pulling the alarm at 10 o’clock on a Tuesday evening, when the hotel was often at its quietest, then there had to be something, truly, deeply wrong.

Jack was the first to stand, dusting off his jeans and extending a hand to help Morrigan up. She took it, rising to her feet and dragging Hawthorne up with her.

“Closest meeting point is out front,” Jack said, feigning professionalism—though Morrigan could hear his voice tremoring as he spoke. She was sure the others must have noticed as well, but if they did, no one brought it up.

Cadence nodded. The group of them had just began to head towards the doorway when a large wall of shaggy grey fur skidded to a halt in front of them.

“Fen? Wha— _Fen!”_ Morrigan was cut off as Fenestra grabbed her by the collar and tossed her onto her back, quickly repeating the process with Hawthorne and Cadence. The moment he’d seen Fen grab Morrigan, Jack had clambered onto the Magnificat’s back and gotten a tight hold on her fur.

Morrigan held on for dear life as Fenestra began sprinting down the hallway. “Fen, what’s going on?”

Fen cast Morrigan a worried glance before turning her eyes back to the front.

“Fen, answer me!”

Fen responded by running faster.

_“Fen!”_

“Hunt’s outside,” Fenestra panted, not breaking stride.

A cold, sinking feeling settled in Morrigan’s stomach. “You don’t mean—?”

“Hunt of Smoke and Shadow,” Fenestra confirmed.

“Where, exactly?”

Fen seemed to slow down for a second, before dashing forward and depositing her riders near what seemed to be a deadbolted cellar door. She pounded on the entrance rhythmically, while Morrigan glanced out through the window and got the answer she was looking for.

The Hunt of Smoke and Shadow was outside.

They were _everywhere._

And they did not look happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaa so excited to finally post something on ao3!!  
> If you’re from the Wundrous Society discord, heya, if you’re not, then heya to you also! And since I have no shame, here’s a link for you to join the server if you’d like https://discord.gg/FXuCMCr  
> Any feedback is appreciated~🌸💫 Chapter 2 should be up soon!


	2. The Old Wine Cellar

Morrigan wrapped her arms around herself, trying and failing to suppress a shiver.

Martha had been waiting at the entrance, and once the door had been locked, bolted, and locked again behind them, she’d started to herd them downwards. The cellar door had led into a cold, slightly damp staircase spiralling deep into the underbelly of the Deucalion. The stairway was lit by a few scattered lanterns that had been placed against the wall every ten steps or so, which didn’t do much to raise the overall temperature of the room.

Morrigan kept to the centre of the hall, feeling slightly dirty. The air was thick with disuse, and she noticed Hawthorne struggling not to cough.

“Keep moving,” Fenestra said gruffly. “Jupiter’ll have my head if I don’t get you lot down soon.”

The group of them descended sullenly, their footsteps echoing miserably off the cobblestone walls. Morrigan and Jack glanced at each other. Morrigan had never seen this part of the hotel, and she doubted Jack had either.

They reached a point where the steps evened out into a blank concrete platform. There was a small patch of water that had pooled in one corner, and Fen was particularly careful not to step in it.

Martha fiddled with a set of keys, before leaning forcefully against the door. It swung open with a creak, and she propped it open, beckoning for Morrigan and the rest of the group to come through.

They filed through the doorway silently, looking around at the dimly lit chamber. People were huddled in all corners of the room, whispering and, Morrigan assumed, gossiping. Guests with blankets draped over their shoulders sat in tight circles, casting wary looks at the staff who were pacing around the room, speaking quickly and avoiding walking within earshot of the eavesdropping hotel patrons.

Morrigan chewed her lip and stared at the floor.  _ This can’t end well,  _ she thought.

“Jack! Mog!” Before either could protest, Jupiter had swept the two of them up into a tight hug that left Morrigan struggling to breathe.

“You’re a lifesaver, Fen,” Jupiter said, releasing the duo from his death grip. “Thank you.”

Fenestra shrugged. “Woulda done it for anyone,” she mused, batting Jupiter amicably with her tail as she walked away. 

“Can’t tell you how glad I am to see you two down here.” Jupiter breathed a sigh of relief. “Obviously, the circumstances aren’t ideal, but at least now I know you two are safe.  _ And  _ you two,” he added, giving a short wave to Cadence and Hawthorne. Hawthorne grinned and waved back, while Cadence simply nodded.

Jack looked around, much like Morrigan had done before, and then said what he and most others in the room were thinking. “Where the Worst Place are we?”

“Old wine cellar,” Jupiter answered breezily. “Been out of use for years since we’ve got that newer one closer to the kitchen, but we needed a place to keep the guests out of trouble and I figured this would be our next best bet.” He put his hands in his pockets and looked around. “Don’t think the guests are all too fond, though.”

He was right. The tension was palpable, and Morrigan could almost see the unease settling on everyone’s shoulders.

Speaking of which... She cast a sideways glance at Jack, who had flipped up his eyepatch and was looking around the room, biting his thumb anxiously.

“What can you see?” she asked him quietly.

There was a pause, and Jack let out a strained sigh. “Martha’s about to start crying, but is holding back because she doesn’t want to disappoint the guests,” he told her, gesturing vaguely towards Martha, who was now hovering over a young couple who’d been staying in the second floor, holding a plate of ice water and wearing a plastered smile.

“Stars above, you’re getting good at this,” Morrigan muttered. Jack waved a hand in front of her face like he was gesturing for her to shut up, and she batted it away indignantly.

“Frank’s pretending to be worried, but he secretly loves it.” He pulled a baffled and mildly disgusted face. “I’m guessing he’s enjoying the drama, but I can’t really tell.”

His eyes scanned the room again. “Fenestra is mostly bored, but she’s a tiny bit worried. Dame Chanda is daydreaming about things to come—or, probably, what this all means for the near future.” He shrugged. “I do have to take some creative liberties sometimes.”

Morrigan drummed her fingers on the hem of her dress. She leaned into Jack, cupping a hand over her mouth. “What about Jupiter?” she asked conspiratorially, making sure Jupiter didn’t hear.

“Jove... I’m never fully sure about him. I think that ‘cause he’s a Witness too, he’s learned to mask his emotions from people like us. But...” Jack bit his lip. “He’s really scared, I think. About the hotel. About us.”

Jack took another long look around the cellar, his forehead creasing with worry.

“I think we might be in over our heads here, Morrigan,” he said, his voice edged with desperation.

Morrigan opened her mouth, wishing she could protest, but she found she couldn’t do much more than nod and give a short hum of agreement, staring blankly at the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you it was coming soon ;) once again any feedback or advice would be excellent! Will aim to have ch3 up by the end of the week but no promises  
> Also if you’re seeing last chapters notes here I’m so sorry?? Again I’m really new to this and the notes are in the wrong chapters and I promise I’m trying very hard to fix it pls bear with me


	3. Breaking News

It had been three hours since the world had shut down, and Morrigan was growing rather bored.

She sighed, blinking wearily. Usually, she would almost always be asleep by now, but the night’s events had been keeping her wide awake, painfully aware of what waited outside.

She wasn’t the only one. The room was bustling with tired faces, and the anxious chattering had gradually died down into a drowsy murmur that occasionally rippled through the room. Frank had discovered an abandoned box of various tools and craft supplies, and a few people had adopted menial tasks to keep them busy while the minutes crawled by.

Martha had dug up a feather duster and was feverishly sweeping every surface she could find, regardless of whether or not it needed dusting. Morrigan was pretty sure she’d seen her absentmindedly attempt to dust one of the guests at some point.

Dame Chanda had unveiled a Nerf Gun, and she and Frank were competing on who could get the most foam bullets into a bucket on the opposite end of the room. Dame Chanda was winning quite gloriously, and Morrigan suspected that Frank was a little salty about it, as he kept insisting that the goal be increased. ‘Best out of five!’ ‘No, no, best out of ten!’ ‘Best of twenty.’ ‘Best of fifty?’ They’d managed to reach best of a hundred, and Frank’s determination remained unwavering.

Kedgeree was fiddling with a battered old TV set in the corner, trying to connect it to the local news station so the hotel staff and patrons could get a read on what was happening outside. So far all he’d achieved was a small pile of bent coat hangers and a slowly growing tally of angrily muttered curse words.

Morrigan found Kedgeree’s task to be the most interesting. While it  _ was  _ fun to watch a very small fanged man get increasingly angry over toy guns, Morrigan was really hoping to hear something from the outside world. Though most news stations wouldn’t usually be broadcasting at 1am, most people seemed to believe that they’d make an exception for this. Morrigan wasn’t sure if it was optimism or just plain naivety, but she wanted so desperately to believe it that she eventually pushed the subject to the back of her mind.

“Don’t lose hope, Mogster,” said Jupiter, giving Morrigan a friendly nudge as he sauntered past. “This’ll all be sorted out soon.”

She didn’t need to be a Witness to see that he was bluffing, and she was fairly certain he realised that. Still, she admired his capability to put on a brave face when the world was falling apart. If she was in his position she’d have broken down an hour ago. Actually, that was a lie. If she was in his position, then she wouldn’t be a Wundersmith, and she wouldn’t have to be so concerned about the Hunt stalking her. In fact, if she wasn’t a Wundersmith, this situation probably wouldn’t have presented itself at all, since—

“Hey.” Jupiter waved a hand in front of Morrigan’s face, and she blinked, suddenly realising how completely absorbed in her daydream she’d been. Jupiter brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “We’re gonna get through this, Morrigan Crow,” he said gently. “We have before and we will again.”

She looked up at him. “Promise?”

He smiled. “Promise.”

Morrigan wanted to say something, but was distracted by Kedgeree’s triumphant cry.

“Got it!”

A wave of hushed whispers swept across the room as everyone turned to Kedgeree and his handiwork.

Morrigan held her breath as the headline appeared on screen.

_ BREAKING: NEVERMOOR UNDER CITY-WIDE ATTACK, WUNDERSMITH TO BLAME? _

A shocked gasp arose from the gathered audience. Morrigan shrank back, feeling highly uncomfortable. Jupiter gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder, but still she wished she could curl up in a ball and let the ground swallow her.

_ “Earlier tonight, the city of Nevermoor underwent a sudden and immediate lockdown, as shadowy demons presenting as wolves and hunters filled the streets. Citizens are advised to lock all doors and windows and refrain from looking outside until further notice.” _

Morrigan scanned the dim, windowless bunker.  _ Well, that shouldn’t be too difficult,  _ she thought.

_ “This invasion has prompted many civilians to point fingers at the dreaded Wundersmith—the power-hungry monster who unleashed grief and devastation on our beautiful city before suddenly vanishing many years ago, never to be seen again.” _

Jack rolled his eyes. “Typical,” he muttered, and Morrigan jumped slightly. She hadn’t noticed him and her Unit members approaching during the beginning of the broadcast. “Always pandering to the conspiracy theorists, aren’t they?” he continued.

“But he  _ is  _ the one behind all this,” Morrigan whispered to him.

“I know that. But they don’t always have to go off on the whole ‘chaos and calamity’ spiel. We all know what ‘The Wundersmith’ means.”

Morrigan hid her face, and Jupiter shot Jack a look of warning.

“That’s not to say all Wundersmiths are bad,” Jack added quickly. “It’s just... y’know... he’s iconic, is all I mean. I’m not trying to say that you’re evil, or anything, because I know you’re not, but, uh...”

Cadence smacked a palm to her forehead. “What this idiot _means_ to say is that when media blames ‘The Wundersmith’ everyone knows they’re talking about the specific Wundersmith behind the Courage Square massacre. Not Wundersmiths as a whole. You’re doing fine, Morrigan.”

Morrigan grimaced. “It doesn’t really  feel  like I’m doing fine. I feel like a ticking time bomb.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Moggers.” Jupiter ruffled her hair affectionately. “You’re not a time bomb. If anything, you’re _the_ bomb.” He grinned. “Get it? Do you get it? It’s because—“

“Yes, Jupiter, I get the joke,” sighed Morrigan.

“It’s ‘cause you’re awesome.”

“I know...”

“See, that’s the attitude I’m looking for.” Jupiter smirked.

_ “...however, some sources claim that the Wundrous Society is home to its very own Wundersmith student.” _

Morrigan had never seen such a large group of people grow dead silent as quickly as they did then. Everyone pretended not to look at Morrigan, and she felt her cheeks burn.

_ “ The Wundrous Society has firmly refused to share any information on the matter. Is it possible that the Society has anything to do with today’s events? And who is this mystery student? Could they be the one to save us, or are they the reason that our beautiful city sleeps in fear tonight? We hope to discuss these questions at a later date, when it is safe to openly discuss the matter. For now, we end this special edition broadcast, so that our studio employees can properly lock down the building. Good night, Nevermoor citizens. Stay safe.” _

The channel died.

No one spoke. Cadence and Jack were shocked. Hawthorne was staring at Morrigan with worry. Jupiter seemed positively livid.

“I’ll be right back,” he said through gritted teeth. He stormed off, but Morrigan was too absorbed in shock to notice where he was going.

The news anchor’s words echoed through her head.

_ Could they be the one to save us, or are they the reason that our beautiful city sleeps in fear tonight? _

Morrigan looked down at her hands.

“Don’t,” all three of her friends said in unison.

“This isn’t some fun school excursion, Morrigan,” Cadence hissed.

“You could be killed,” Hawthorne added anxiously.

“If you left and I didn’t stop you, Jove would never let me hear the end of it,” groaned Jack.

She looked up at her friends. She knew they were just trying to look out for her, and she knew all too well they had a point, but...

She smiled sadly. “No one else can fix this.”

“I don’t think you can fix this either,” Cadence murmured, not unkindly.

Morrigan clenched her fists, trying to suppress the fear that pounded against her ribs.

“I have to try.”

Jack, Cadence and Hawthorne shared a long look.

“Then we need a way out of here,” Cadence whispered.

Jack straightened up, his uncovered eye darting shiftily around the room.

“Okay, listen closely,” he said, touching his eyepatch gingerly. “I think I might have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jupiter making dad jokes gives me life tbh


	4. Here’s the Plan

“... I figure that with Cadence’s mesmerism, my observational skills, and Hawthorne’s general clownery, Morrigan should be able to slip away, bona fide ninja style,” Jack finished in a muted whisper. He struck a small but flashy ninja pose to emphasise his point.

There was a beat of silence.

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Hawthorne declared.

“You’re one to talk,” Cadence muttered darkly. Hawthorne glared at her for a moment, but even he wasn’t enough of an idiot to pick a fight with her. “Besides, I’d like to see you come up with a better plan.”

Hawthorne puffed out his chest. “Easy! I’ll go make the perfect distraction so that nobody notices Morrigan leaving, Jack will use his magic eye to tell us when the coast is clear, and Cadence can just mesmerise anyone who asks about Morrigan’s whereabouts.” He grinned.

Cadence blinked. “That is, word for word, exactly what Jack said.”

Hawthorne deflated a little. “Oh.”

“It is not a  _magic eye_ ,”  Jack scoffed. “It’s—“

“Eyes on the prize, Pirate Boy,” Cadence interrupted. “Or eye, singular, I suppose.”

Jack folded his arms. “You want me to help or not?”

“I want you to concentrate.”

“I’m just saying that—“

“Guys,” Hawthorne said.

“Honestly, you need to learn to take a joke...”

“Bet you wouldn’t say that to an actual half-blind guy!”

“You are vastly underestimating how much of a jerk I am.”

_ “Guys,”  _ Hawthorne pressed.

“You are unbelievable. How could Morrigan ever be friends with someone like you?”

“Maybe because we’re a Unit, and I have a closer bond with her than you ever will.”

“Guys! _Please!”_ Hawthorne tried to grab Cadence by the sleeve of her shirt, but she pushed him away.

“Oh really? You wanna bet?”

“Sure! I’d love to see a scrawny little boy like you try to take me d—“

Cadence was cut off mid sentence as Hawthorne punched her in the face.

Morrigan stepped back, eyes wide. Seemed he was enough of an idiot after all.

Jack clapped a hand over his mouth, and it was evident that he and Morrigan weren’t the only ones watching. All over the cellar, heads had turned toward Cadence, who had staggered back and was now rubbing her cheek, her face turning red.

“Oh, you wanna fight?” growled Cadence.

Hawthorne cast Morrigan and Jack a meaningful glance. “Yes. I do.”

Morrigan stepped back once more as realisation dawned on her.  _ The perfect distraction,  _ she thought.

She and Jack shared a nod, sidling away while Hawthorne and Cadence drew the attention of the staff and guests. Morrigan knew that since the hotel staff would try to intervene, she and Jack only had so long to find an escape window before the fight was dispelled.

They approached the stairway entrance hastily, ducking behind a small pile of boxes before cautiously approaching the door. Jack pulled his eyepatch up onto his forehead and looked around, holding a hand out to Morrigan as a gesture for her to wait.

A long minute passed, and Morrigan held her breath as she watched Hawthorne and Cadence skirt around each other. Cadence seemed to have caught on to Hawthorne’s ruse as well, and was barking worse than she was biting, occasionally throwing in a weakened punch or a missed kick to add some flavour. Already, a few staff members were worming through the crowd of gathered guests, and Morrigan knew the clock was ticking.

“Now!” Jack hissed, nudging Morrigan forward.

She stumbled, slightly alarmed. “Nobody’s watching?”

He cast a wary glance back at the crowd. “One other person besides Cadence and Hawthorne, but I’m not sure who. It’s fine, I’ll get Cadence to sort it out.” He pulled open the door and pushed her out into the hallway. “This is the best shot we’re gonna get. Now go!”

The door slammed shut behind her.

Morrigan shuddered, looking up at the cold, dark stairway. It had been bad enough descending earlier, but now she was going to have to traverse the musty corridor alone.

She sucked in a breath and wrapped her arms around herself, before planting one foot on the first stair.

She continued on, making her way up the winding staircase, suppressing the terror that bit at the pit of her stomach. The icy air seeped into her bones, and she deeply wished she’d brought a jacket. She shivered and pressed on.

What felt like a million steps later, she reached the top of the staircase, panting and shaking. She looked up at the heavily locked door above her, and hesitated.

_ Do I really wanna do this? _

She shook her head angrily, reaching towards the locking mechanisms.

_ I don’t want to,  _ she thought, sliding one heavy metal bar to the side.

_ I don’t wanna do this at all,  _ she thought, pulling a steel rod out of a chain loop.

_ I do not want to do this,  _ she thought, pausing as her hand reached for the final hook.

_ But I have to. _

She gave it a tug, and it fell away, along with the tangled mesh of wires and chains.

_ Sorry, Martha,  _ she thought, grimacing as she timidly stepped over the pile of discarded entry-prevention methods.

And then, heart pounding, she pushed the doors aside.

The Hunt of Smoke and Shadows sat outside, watching through the windows and waiting for her.

Morrigan hoisted herself up and out of the cellar, tenderly closing the doors behind her before turning to the Hunt. “Good evening,” she said timidly. “Or morning, I suppose...”

The Hunt stared at her in stony silence.

She looked around. She’d never seen the Hotel this empty, and she felt an eerie sense of silence wash over her. She shook it off bitterly.

She stepped forward, ignoring her racing pulse, and pushed open the window, revelling in sharp, fresh night air.

The Hunt regarded her patiently. Morrigan took a deep breath, then extended one hand towards it.

“Take me to him.”

The Hunt rushed towards her gleefully, and the last thing she saw was a pair of glinting red eyes in the darkness, before the Hotel melted away, taking the rest of the world with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m tossing out chapter like one of those tennis ball throwers things throws the tennis balls yeet yeet  
> Also fun fact it’s my birthday tomorrow ʕ•ᴥ•ʔʕ•ᴥ•ʔ  
> Which means I may be a little slower with posting because I’ll be nonstop playing Animal Crossing oop—  
> Also next chapter will be kinda angst probably so look out


	5. Chasing Courage

Morrigan woke up with her face pressed against the pavement and the faint taste of blood in her mouth.

She stood up shakily, spitting a small drop of shining red liquid onto her shirt sleeve.  _ That’s probably fine,  _ she thought with unease.

Hey eyes darted around the clearing as she hugged herself, trembling. She was dripping wet, she realised; she had barely even noticed it had been raining, probably due to the fact that she’d been passed out on the concrete not a minute ago. Plus, she figured that the sky being literally filled with shadows tended to somewhat hinder one’s spacial awareness. Fortunately, the rain had subsided, so although she was stranded in the dampened plaza, at least the wind that whipped at her face was dry, if not bitingly cold.

It took her a moment to recognise her surroundings, but once she did, her heart sunk with fear.  _ Courage Square. _

She glanced up, and then flinched back. Thousands of glowing red eyes stared at her from above, burning bright amidst a thick cloud of swirling darkness. Morrigan’s breathing sped up.

_ I need to get out of here,  _ she thought urgently. She didn’t care why she’d come here in the first place—she couldn’t even  _ remember  _ why she’d come here in the first place. Everything was a blur, blood roared in her ears, and no matter how hard she tried, all she could see was  _ danger  _ and all she could think was  _ run. _

Morrigan turned to the nearest alleyway and bolted.

She kept running for what, to her, felt like hours, not once looking back, not once thinking about where she was going, just desperately hoping to escape.

She thought she heard the Hunt soaring after her. Maybe it was just the wind.

She skidded to a halt as she emerged into another small clearing, making a sharp turn to the left and continuing to sprint through the labyrinthine backstreets of Nevermoor.

As she dashed down the alley, she tripped over a scattered pile of cardboard boxes and tumbled to the ground, her elbow scraping harshly against the asphalt. She stood up, wincing as she cradled her now bleeding arm, and kept running.

She thought she saw a hunter chasing her down the pathway. Maybe it was just her own shadow, cast onto the pavement by the flickering lanterns mounted on the high walls of the alley.

She reached yet another opening and looked around desperately.  _ How the hell do I get out of here?! _

She barrelled past a lopsided trash can, knocking it over as she passed. It fell with a vicious clatter, spreading litter across the pavement. Though she felt bad, Morrigan knew she didn’t have time to waste by turning back to clean up. She had to keep running.

She thought she heard the clattering of hooves drawing ever closer. Maybe it was just her own footfalls, echoing through the night.

She kept running. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, her arm stung, her head throbbed, her heart pounded, and she still kept running. Running and running and running until she thought she’d pass out again.

_ I haven’t seen another path in a while. _

Morrigan slowed down, dismayed, as she realised there were no other paths. She’d been running in a straight line on a road that led to nothing. She came to a standstill as she reached the end of the long, narrow corridor.

_ Am I going to die here? _

She could’ve sworn she heard the triumphant howl of a wolf. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her, like it had been doing for the past twenty-something minutes while she chased herself in circles around the lifeless streets.

Morrigan faced the bare, concrete wall ahead of her and sunk to her knees.

She shook her head furiously, choking back a sob.  _ Get a grip, idiot. There are people who need you. _

Despite her best efforts, a few hot tears spilled down her cheeks.  _ There are people who are in danger, and it’s all your fault. _

_ Don’t you owe it to them to at least try to fix the world you broke? _

She stood up, legs wobbling, and swiped a palm across her eyes, wiping the tears away. She took a deep, shaky breath, casting a fearful glance behind her.

There was nothing there.

She sighed, relieved, and slowly began to walk back the way she came. She was breathing heavily, both from the crying and the running, and she was dead tired. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she had to fix this first.

She dragged her feet along the brick, her breath and heartbeat gradually slowing. Now that she wasn’t booking it through the streets, the night was actually quite peaceful. She looked up, and saw the opening that she’d previously come from. 

A single pair of red eyes watched her from the opposite pathway.

She sighed and stumbled back into the clearing, defeated... And then noticed a small patch of blood on the ground.

_ Her  _ blood. 

She was back where she started.

“Oh, come on... _come_ _ on!”  _ she yelled, stamping her foot on the ground. She let out a frustrated growl, and a small burst of Wunder shot out from between her teeth. She coughed as the bitter taste of ash spread across her tongue.

“Tsk, tsk,” came a calm voice. “You must learn to control your temper, little crowling.”

Morrigan’s heart stopped. She knew that voice. 

She turned, slowly, and came face to face with the man who had showed up in all of her nightmares since the day she’d learned she was just like him.

Ezra regarded her with a piercing stare.

“Morrigan Crow,” he said coldly. “Always a pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been far too long since i posted imo... I’m fourteen now! So that’s fun.  
> Animal Crossing is the best game I’ve played in a while and I’m gonna make a Hawthorne sweater using the pro design feature lol


	6. I Need a Favour

Morrigan struggled to control her laboured breathing as panic ripped at her stomach.

Ezra smirked. “You’ve already tired yourself out,” he observed. “That’s good.”

Morrigan felt a twang of unease. Granted, she didn’t trust anything Ezra Squall did or said, but when the infamous Wundersmith claims that something is “good” then it is safe to assume it is anything but.

Ezra cocked his head to the side. “I need you to do me a favour, Miss Crow.”

Morrigan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t owe you any favours.”

“Ah, but of course you do,” said Ezra, grinning smugly. “I’ve taught you to control your power, haven’t I?”

“Only enough to keep me alive,” Morrigan muttered. Ezra ignored her.

“And I am the reason you are here in Nevermoor, am I not?”

“Not necessarily...”

“If I hadn’t come after you, do you think that patron of yours would have bothered either? Would you even have this shiny new life if I hadn’t chased you into it?”

Morrigan opened and closed her mouth dumbly. She desperately wanted to argue, but he was right. There had been other Wundersmiths Jupiter could have gone after on that terrifying night, she knew that much. She’d never stopped to think that Jupiter had only chosen her because Ezra had as well.

“Disappointment,” Ezra said, shaking his head in mock pity. “Tastes awfully bitter, doesn’t it?”

“What do you want?” Morrigan demanded.

“No need for such haste, Miss Crow! Good things come to those who wait.”

“Bad things happen to those standing in front of a mass murderer.”

Ezra shrugged. “You’ve got me there. Watch this.” Ezra stepped forward and extended one hand towards Morrigan’s shoulder. She recoiled on instinct, and then saw his hand phase cleanly through her body, swiping through her upper arm and pulling away without leaving a single mark. “See?”

Morrigan rubbed the skin where his hand had passed through, feeling the tiniest bit violated. “What are you trying to prove?”

“I’m showing you that I’m trapped, dear crowling. I’m stuck here, locked out of the Free State, unable to touch the city I love.”

“That’s because last time you touched it you tried to destroy it.”

“Small sacrifices, Miss Crow.”

“I would hardly call a whole city a small sacrifice.”

“That’s besides the point,” Ezra said, making a swatting gesture with his hands. He looked Morrigan in the eye. “I want to come home, little crowling. But I cannot do it alone.”

_ I don’t think I like where this is going,  _ Morrigan thought anxiously.

“I’ve found a way to return to Nevermoor. Physically, permanently, on my own terms. Free to roam the beautiful city of which I have been so cruelly deprived.”

_ I definitely don’t like where this is going,  _ Morrigan thought, swallowing her panic.

“But I’ll need you, Morrigan Crow. This trick is not a simple one, and it will require our combined power to successfully pull it off.” He turned away, reaching up to scratch a shadow wolf under its chin. “The point is, I’m going to need your help.”

“And why should I give it to you?”

He spoke without looking at her. “Because you don’t have a choice.”

Morrigan yelped as a thick strand of Wunder coiled around her, pinning her arms to the sides of her body. A shadowy hand pulled her backwards, slamming her forcefully against a nearby lamppost. In an instant, her legs were bound tightly to the pole, and her wrists had been pulled together and tied up behind it, so that her arms were locked securely around the pole in an awkward backwards hug.

“Let me go!” she barked, wriggling madly against the rope and unable to loosen it even slightly.

“Or what, little crowling?” Ezra walked over, stroking Morrigan’s jawbone, and though she couldn’t physically feel it, she shivered at the mere thought of him touching her. “You can’t hurt me. I’m barely even here.”

She spat a small arc of fire in his face, and he simply laughed.

“Even now, what’s yours is mine, dear Morrigan. Slowly but surely, I am going to drain you of your energy, and then I am going to use it to bring myself home.”

Morrigan’s throat tightened. “You’re going to kill me?”

“Almost. Maybe. Hard to say.” Ezra tapped his lips thoughtfully. “I’m going to kill the part of you that made you useful to me. After that it’ll just be a matter of if you can run away fast enough.”

“I won’t be a Wundersmith anymore?” Morrigan asked quietly.

“If all goes to plan, then yes,” Ezra sighed. “You won’t have to carry our beautiful burden ever again.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure why you’re so eager to be rid of it, but as long as it gets me home, I suppose I couldn’t care less.”

Morrigan stared at her feet. The silence pressed in on all sides, and she felt like she was falling. “So what happens now?”

“Terribly inquisitive tonight, aren’t we? No matter.” Ezra folded his arms, tapping his foot, seeming almost bored. “I suppose I could leave you awake for this whole process... but if you’re unconscious, it’ll be quicker. And rather less painful.” He glanced at the sky. “Dreadfully sorry for this, crowling, but it must be done.”

“What—?”

Morrigan let out a sharp hiss as she was clocked upside the head by a shadowy rifle.

She looked up dizzily to see a hunter aiming at her, with glinting red eyes aflame with malice.

Her eyes widened, then squeezed shut as the sound of a gunshot tore through the night...

... And she didn’t feel anything. What she did hear was the heavy thunk of a man falling to the ground and a low groan.

She cracked open her eyes, and saw Ezra staring at the ground beneath her feet. “Interesting,” said Squall.

Morrigan looked down to see Jupiter North, rising to his feet and breathing heavily, with a scowl on his face and a bullet wound in his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhh ive shot my boy  
> What do we do when we love a character? Put bullets in them! That’s always fun—


	7. My City, My Home

Morrigan’s eyes widened, and she vainly attempted to yank herself free.  _ “Jupiter!” _

He straightened up, wavering for a moment and then regaining control of himself. A dark red stain was slowly crawling across his shirt, but he didn’t seem to care. “Morrigan!”

He hurried over to her, and Morrigan couldn’t help but notice how his usual gracefulness had failed him. He winced as he stumbled on the curb, reaching a hand up to his wound and then apparently deciding that Morrigan was more important. He cupped her face in one clean hand—the other already had blood trickling down it—and looked her in the eye.

“Did he hurt you, Mog?” he asked seriously, forehead creased in what was either worry or pain.

Morrigan swallowed. “Not yet.”

Jupiter brushed his fingers across the strings of Wunder tied around her, and then drew back with a hiss. Morrigan had barely even noticed the faint burning sensation on her skin, but maybe that was because she’d grown used to it from past experience.

Jupiter shook the near-burnt hand, cursing under his breath. Morrigan’s lips tightened. “Jupiter, you can’t be here. It’s too dangerous.”

Jupiter gave her a slightly annoyed look. “Yet it’s perfectly safe for the fourteen year old child?” His voice softened a little. “If anything happened to you, Mog, I...” he trailed off, and Morrigan suspected that he wasn’t planning to finish his sentence any time soon.

“How did you get here?” she asked. “Hawthorne and Cadence and Jack and I tried to make sure that no one followed me—“

“I’ve been dealing with Jack’s late-night escape attempts for years. You four weren’t quite as careful as you think you were,” he said, chuckling slightly and then grimacing in pain. There was blood covering most of his arm now, and she vaguely wondered how he hadn’t already collapsed in pain.

Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Are we finished with our sentiments?”

Jupiter’s demeanour changed in an instant as he turned to face Ezra. “Don’t you dare touch her,” he growled, in that low, murderous voice that Morrigan had only heard on rare occasion.

“Or what?” Ezra crowed. “What could you possibly do to me, Captain?”

Jupiter moved forward, fingers twitching, but before he could take another step his knees buckled and he met the pavement once again.

Ezra laughed, and then smiled coldly. Jupiter clutched at his gunshot wound, gasping for breath. He gave a few deep coughs, and blood smeared across his sleeve. Eventually he pulled his hand, coated in crimson, away from his shoulder. A few drops of blood fell from his injury and splashed onto the ground, mixing in with the rainwater and staining the cobblestone a murky red.

He stood up, swaying slightly, and wiped his bloodied hand on his jeans. “I’m not scared of you,” he said.

Ezra rolled his eyes, the thin smile never leaving his face. “You’re a decent liar, you know. It’s a shame you waste your talent on me.”

“Leave him alone,” Morrigan snapped, and she was almost surprised to hear her own voice. “H-he hasn’t done anything wrong,” she continued nervously.

“Neither have you, Moggers,” Jupiter reminded her. He glared at Ezra, as if hoping that he, too, would get the message. “Why are you doing this to us?”

“Because she has something I want. Was that not obvious?” Ezra wove a glowing strand of Wunder between his fingers delicately. “As for you, well, you’re just being annoying. And I’ve been itching to get in a bit of practice before I come home.”

Ezra started pulling at the Wunder strand until it transformed into a high-energy, crackling beam. “Tell me this one thing, Captain, while you still have the ability to speak.”

Jupiter glanced at Morrigan, and then took a step away from her, trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. Morrigan had the distinct, horrible feeling that she knew exactly why.

Ezra grinned, and as the moonlight reflected off his teeth Morrigan could’ve sworn she’d caught a glimpse of the classic caricature of the Wundersmith, much like the one she’d seen on the night of the Fright Trial. “What exactly is stopping me from killing you right where you stand?”

With that, he clicked his fingers, and the beam of Wunder sprang into action. 

It rocketed in Jupiter’s direction, and Morrigan screamed. It began to grow in size, moving faster, emitting violent sparks and illuminating the dark plaza. Morrigan closed her eyes. It sped directly towards Jupiter, roaring with heat, about to incinerate him in a blazing column of light...

“I am,” Morrigan said calmly.

... And then it froze completely.

Ezra tilted his head, confused. “That’s new.”

Jupiter jumped back, breathing heavily. The still-sparking ray of Wunder had barely stopped in time, and there were a few singed spots on the front of his jacket.

Morrigan relaxed, and the ropes that were tightly wound around her melted away. She kept her eyes closed.

Ezra watched her, masking his shock. “Can I help you, Miss Crow?”

She jerked her hand as if she was grabbing his wrist and yanking it to the side, and even though he was several feet away and on a different plane of existence, his arm still reacted in just the same way it would have if she’d physically grabbed it.

“You think you own this place?” she growled.

He thought about it for a moment. “Yes.”

She made another sharp motion, and his arm received another tug. “You do not get to come into this city— _ our  _ city—and claim it as your own.”

“You do not belong in Nevermoor, Morrigan Crow.”

She twisted his arm once again. “Stop doing that,” he whined.

“I love this city for its people. You love it for its power.” She walked over to him breezily, eyes still shut, and spoke in a low voice. “You think we are the same, but I know the difference between us.”

Ezra tried to push her away, and his hands connected with nothing. He folded them bitterly. “And what is that?”

Morrigan clenched her fists, and her dress began to sway in the wind. She took a pace back, grinning as Wunder began to dance around her.

She snapped open her eyes—eyes that were glowing a blinding white, dripping with pure Wundrous energy.

Ezra met her gaze. His posture was calm, but Morrigan saw his jaw twitch.

“Here’s the difference, Squall.” She gave a dry smile, as the swirling Wunder lifted her gently off her feet, causing her to hover over the ground. “I am a Wundersmith.”

Ezra growled, squinting as the light grew brighter.

Morrigan smiled mournfully, as glowing tears of salt water and Wunder trailed down her face. “And you are a monster.”

She was expecting him to say something, but he didn’t.

“You tried to take everything from me, time and time again.” She almost had to shout to be heard over the howling tornado of Wunder that surrounded her.

She unclenched her fists, and for a moment, the world was quiet. The only sound heard in the eerie silence was the lone splash of a teardrop hitting the cobblestone far below.

“Now it’s my turn,” she whispered.

All at once, the gathered Wunder rushed out from beneath her feet.

Ezra held out a hand to shield himself as he was enveloped in a rushing column of light. Morrigan saw his silhouette briefly struggling against the energy, before dissipating completely.

Morrigan laughed gleefully... Perhaps a tad too gleefully.

_ I just killed the Wundersmith! _

_ I just... _

_ I just killed the Wundersmith. _

_ I just killed someone. _

She dropped to her knees, trying to reign in the Wunder she’d released, but it wouldn’t listen to her anymore.

She could feel Wunder pouring out from her, sucking out her stamina as it rolled through the streets, chasing after nothing, much like she herself had done earlier that night.

She screamed in agony as her skin began to burn, Wunder tearing at her physical being, having run out of energy to steal.

Light radiated from every corner of her vision. Blinding, inescapable.

Until she felt a hand on her back.

The world went quiet—like someone had casually dropped her into a tub of warm water. Wundrous energy swirled around her for a moment, then faded into the night.

Jupiter hooked an arm under her knees and curled the other around her back. She could feel his blood—or was it her blood?—spreading against her arms as he gently lifted her into the air.

She met her mentor’s gaze. His bright blue eyes were dull with pain and his ginger beard was stained a dark, trailing red, but still he smiled back at her, as he always did.

“I’ve got you, Mog.” He tightened his grip around her. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

Morrigan closed her eyes, comforted by Jupiter’s presence.

Her body went limp and all her pain melted away, as the world turned black for the second time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest chapter in this whole fic hbrksjafshs  
> Also I did end up making the Hawthorne sweater! It’s not great but it exists


	8. Misguided Memories

_ Beep.  _

_ Beep.  _

_ Beep. _

White hot pain flashed through Morrigan’s body.

_ Beep. _

She sucked in a breath as the initial pain faded, and fatigue rolled through her limbs in its wake.

_ Beep. _

She tried to shift her body, but it wouldn’t respond. She struggled against her own heavy limbs as fear gripped her.

_ Beep. _

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she was relieved to know that at least those still worked.

_ Beep. _

With a great deal of energy, Morrigan lifted her head and took in her surroundings. She was lying on a raised bed, in a clean white room filled with charts and folders, and a sky blue curtain dividing the room.

_ Beep. _

To her left was a window to the outside world. She searched the Nevermoor skyline, curious to see if she could spot the Hotel from... wherever she was.

_ Beep. _

To her right was a table covered in all sorts of bits and pieces. There was a box of chocolates, a bouquet of assorted black-and-grey flowers, a stack of “Get Well Soon” cards and a small cat plushie that looked suspiciously like Fen.

_ Beep. _

Morrigan lay her head back on her pillow, staring at the ceiling for a long, empty moment.

_ Beep. _

_ I hope Jupiter’s alright,  _ she thought.

_ Beep. _

She shot an annoyed glance at the heart rate monitor beside her bed before closing her eyes with a sigh. The whining beep slowly morphed into an unnoticeable hum as she became lost in a memory.

_ I’m sitting in the hotel lobby. Hawthorne is here, and so is Cadence, and Jack. We’re playing a card game. Hawthorne’s cheating, and Jack is calling him out on it.  _

She smirked ever so slightly.  _ Cadence is mesmerising Jack so he thinks Hawthorne is winning on skill alone. _

That was when it had all gone wrong—when the alarm had caused all four of them to jump out of their skins, when Fenestra dragged them to the wine cellar, when Morrigan realised that everything was wrong and perhaps it would never be right again.

Fortunately, in Morrigan’s mind, it just so happened to be that same moment when the memory took a sharp turn into daydream-ville.

_ Martha is walking in with a tray of pastries, and Hawthorne’s eyes are lighting up. She’s handing them around to us, and gently reminding us not to stay up too late. _

Morrigan gave the faintest hint of a smile.

_ Fenestra is coming downstairs, slowly and calmly, and then laying down on the floor nearby. A deep purring is filling the room, and Jack is grinning. Even Cadence looks happy. _

She let out the tiniest of huffs, happiness swelling in her chest.

_ And now... and now Jupiter’s here. He’s laughing, leaning against Fenestra’s side. His eyes are bright, his movements smooth. He looks happy, and healthy, and safe. _

Morrigan felt a sudden, deep ache in her heart, accompanied by a desperate sense of longing.

_ Everyone is safe. Everything is good. I am comfortable, and I am with my friends. _

Morrigan’s fingers twitched.  _ I am home. _

At that moment, two people walked into the room, startling Morrigan out of her thoughts.

Making her way towards Morrigan was a nurse, dressed in pastel blue scrubs with chestnut hair tied back into a neat bun.

Accompanying the nurse, dressed in a tidy black jumpsuit and clutching a clipboard like it was a lifeline, was...

“Anah...?” croaked Morrigan.

Morrigan’s unit mate shushed her, taking a seat next to the hospital bed.

“I’m so glad you’re awake, Morrigan,” she began softly. “I’ve been doing an internship program at the hospital, and I thought I’d come check in on you while I had the opportunity.”

Morrigan stared lazily at the fluorescent lights overhead while Anah continued to speak.  “ I know you must have a lot of questions, and I can’t answer them all today. I’m sorry.” She tapped the clipboard with her pen, biting her cheek. “All I can tell you is that nobody’s been killed.”

Morrigan’s brow creased.

“Oh, except for the Wund—err, Ezra Squall.” She hugged the clipboard awkwardly. “Someone managed to send some footage into the news station, and he, uh, kind of disintegrated. You probably saw it. You were sort of right in front of him.” She tapped her feet, looking down at the floor.

“But—“ Morrigan choked.

“No talking,” Anah interrupted sternly. “You’ll strain yourself.”

_ But he wasn’t really here,  _ Morrigan finished in her head. All at once she was hit by the terrifying idea that Ezra Squall may still be alive, and if anything, she had probably just significantly annoyed him.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Anah said, noticing the way Morrigan’s face paled in anxiety. “You’re in good hands. Trust me.”

Anah gave Morrigan’s hand a friendly pat as she stood from the bed, walking to the other side of the room. Morrigan watched as she leafed through a hefty set of folders hanging from the walls, before pulling out a small file with some stray bits of paper.

“I’m just gonna do a quick test of your motor skills,” Anah said professionally as she strode back to Morrigan’s bedside. She pulled a pen from her jumpsuit pocket and clicked it a few times. “While you’re healing, we’ll probably use notes to communicate.” She handed Morrigan the pen, and placed a piece of paper down in front of her. “Would you mind writing something for me? Anything is fine.”

Morrigan gripped the pen, and, letter by shaky letter, wrote out a message in wobbly, barely legible handwriting.

_ I liKe yo u r ju M ps Uit _

Anah smirked as she took back the paper. “Thanks! And I think you look gorgeous in that hospital gown, by the way.”

Morrigan gave a small wheeze while Anah chuckled. Morrigan winced as she felt a sudden pounding in her head.

Anah’s brow creased with worry. “It’s about time I get you a fresh dose of painkillers. Will you be okay if I leave for a while?”

Morrigan nodded, and Anah went off in search of the medicine, leaving Morrigan to stare at the ceiling again while the other nurse fiddled with her IV.

Morrigan couldn’t help but take note of how laid back Anah had been. Usually the golden-haired girl was timid, ducking to avoid Morrigan’s gaze and sitting on the furthest seat from her on Hometrain as was physically possible. But now she was strutting across the room with confidence, giving instructions with a strong sense of friendly authority.

_ Maybe it’s because she’s in her element,  _ Morrigan thought.  _ Or maybe... maybe it’s because I’m out of action and can’t possibly hurt her. _

Morrigan felt a little upset by this notion, but she figured she may as well take advantage of Anah’s approachable demeanour while she could.

It didn’t occur to her that Anah thought of her as a hero, and it certainly didn’t occur to her that her unit-mate actually trusted her.

The concept was just too foreign. After all, who in their right mind could trust a Wundersmith?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOSPITAL TIME!! I feel like 80% of fics i post will end up with a hospital involved lol  
> also i think im getting slightly lazier can y’all tell?  
> I’m not super satisfied with this chapter. But eh. Next one should be a lil more exciting ✨


	9. Fifty-Eight Days

A few days later, Morrigan awoke to find Jack leaning against the doorway.

“Morning,” he said casually. Morrigan beamed, and he gave a small smirk, walking over and sitting on the foot of her bed. “How’ve you been?”

Morrigan groaned. “I’ve certainly been better,” she said in a voice that was still slightly raspy from disuse. Jack chuckled.

“I’ll admit, this isn’t the first time I’ve visited. I was here yesterday, too, but you were resting and I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

“Softie.”

Jack grabbed the nearest fashion magazine and swatted it towards Morrigan in rebellion. She batted it away, giggling, and then sat up to lean back on her elbows.

“I can see you’re getting better,” Jack said, tossing the magazine back onto the table he’d taken it from.

“How do you—ah, right.” Morrigan noticed that the older boy was without his trademark eyepatch.

“It’s not just that,” he said, touching his fingertips to his face as if he was embarrassed. “Your skin’s brighter. Your eyes are less sunken. You seem more relaxed.”

Morrigan felt her cheeks flush.

Jack smiled. “And you’ve got a bit more colour in your face, it would seem.” There was a brief pause, and then he added, in a sheepish whisper, “You know, I’m really, really glad to see you, Morrigan. You’ve had us all pretty worried.”

Morrigan gave him a blank stare, and he blinked. “Has, erm... has anyone shown you the news footage from that night?”

Morrigan shook her head, and Jack clicked his tongue, as if something had suddenly began to make a lot more sense. He held up a finger. “One second.”

A few minutes later, he returned holding a cell phone, with a popular video sharing site displayed on the screen. He sat on Morrigan’s bed again, and she scooted up next to him so she could watch from over his shoulder.

Morrigan was somewhat baffled by the nervous look Jack gave her, but was distracted once he hit ‘play’.

_ “At around 3 o’clock in the morning today, residents in the heart of Courage Square reported an unusual amount of noise coming from the centre of the plaza.” _

Morrigan wrapped her arms around her knees.

_ “Close inspection of video footage from that time reveals what would seem to be the infamous Ezra Squall facing off against a teenage girl and a bearded middle-aged man. Further review has concluded that both of them are members of Nevermoor’s Wundrous Society.” _

Morrigan grimaced as she thought back on that broadcast from the wine cellar.

_ “Strangely, much of the footage from last night was corrupted after a certain point, but multiple eyewitness accounts have reported seeing Ezra Squall completely obliterated by a torrent of Wunder. The credibility of these reports were doubted at first, but soon confirmed by a single CCTV camera that somehow managed to avoid the video interference.” _

Morrigan rested her chin on her knees, and then gasped in horror at the video that played on the screen. On it, she saw herself, and then... she saw nothing. Wunder rushed out of her body, burning so bright it made the rest of the footage almost unseeable. She could only see Ezra’s dissolving silhouette, as well as her own outline, which also began to tear into pieces until Jupiter had reached out to her.

_ “The two other individuals directly involved in the incident were hospitalised, while several onlookers retained minor burn wounds. The city council has offered to cover expenses for all property damage that occurred in the Courage Square area on this night. More on this story as it develops.” _

Jack stopped the video, and Morrigan sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Wow. Last week must have been crazy, huh?”

Jack cleared his throat, looking away guiltily. “Morrigan.”

“Yes?”

“You... you do realise it’s been nearly two months, don’t you?”

Morrigan’s shoulders sank. “Oh. Well, that’s not ideal.”

Jack looked up at her, biting his lip sincerely. “I mean... fifty-eight days, Morrigan. You gave us a pretty good scare.”

“You’ve been counting?”

He scoffed. “You mock me now, but I guarantee I’m not the only one.”

Morrigan blinked.  _ Speaking of which... _

“How’s Jupiter?” she ventured tentatively.

“Jove? He’s... alright.” Jack wrung his hands nervously. “He was discharged from hospital in about a week, but he’s, well... he’s still recovering, I suppose.”

Morrigan and Jack shared a long look.

Jack cleared his throat, staring down at the floor. “He’s... really worried about you, y’know.”

Morrigan raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Jack chuckled. “Course he is. You know what he’s like.”

“I do, I just... I’m still not fully used to people caring about me.”

There was a short, awkward pause.

“Well, when you didn’t wake up by the time Jove was dismissed, he... didn’t really take it well. He was skipping meals for a bit, and hardly sleeping... some of the staff even thought he’d have to come back to hospital, since he was barely taking care of himself for a while.”

Morrigan felt horrified, and Jack shook his head solemnly. “He really wanted to come visit you once he’d heard you were awake, but the staff still have him on house arrest. At one point Fenestra actually sat in front of the Hotel entrance for a solid hour until he went back to his room.” He bit his lip. “And while I get that he wants to check on you, it’s probably better he stayed inside. He  _ did  _ collapse in the hallway that one time.” His brow creased thoughtfully. “Twice, actually.”

Morrigan’s heart sunk. “If Jupiter’s not well... is that my fault...?”

Jack gave her a look of vague surprise. “Of course not,” he said softly. “He’s just stressed, is all. He’ll be alright. Especially now he knows that  _ you’re  _ alright.”

Morrigan smiled. “Thanks, Jack.”

He clicked his tongue, winking as he flashed her a cheesy finger gun. “Don’t mention it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly 100 hits? For real y’all’re amazing 💞  
> This is gonna sound bad but I’m kind of super excited to be done with this because it means I can officially start on the OTHER fic... hehehehe (And no I don’t mean the chat fic) >;)  
> Home stretch baby... I’ve planned out the final two chapters and now all I have to do is bridge them to these ones :D


	10. Biting the Hand that Feeds You

At 1:27am, Morrigan woke up screaming.

She clutched the crisp hospital sheets to her chest, panting heavily and looking around in a panic. Slowly, her racing pulse began to slow as she realised the glowing dots in the darkness were flashing monitors, not flaming eyes.

“Morrigan...?”

Morrigan flinched as her own name echoed through the darkness.

The sound of heavy footfalls echoed down the hall and a nurse burst into the room, white-faced and wide-eyed.

“I heard—“

“It’s fine,” the slightly raspy voice said. “Just another nightmare, I think.”

The nurse nodded and reluctantly turned away.

Morrigan sat up, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Cadence...?”

“Hey.” Her voice was soft, which was very un-Cadence-like. Morrigan squinted.

“What are you doing here?”

Though she could barely see, Morrigan heard Cadence shifting in her seat guiltily. “We’ve been... we’ve been here.”

Morrigan squinted. “What? Who’s we? And why?”

“919.” Cadence rubbed her hands together. “We’ve been taking turns sleeping here.”

Morrigan was quiet for a moment. “Why would you... why would you do that for me?”

“You’re family, Morrigan.” Cadence shrugged. “At least, you’re the closest thing _I_ have to it.”

Morrigan didn’t know what to say. A long moment passed, and Cadence let out a small huff—almost like a tiny, barely noticeable laugh.

“You should try to get some more sleep,” Cadence said. “You’re going back to the Hotel today.”

Morrigan was silent for another moment. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

Cadence seemed surprised for a moment. Morrigan shifted in her bed, pulling her blanket over her shoulders and blinking drowsily.

“You’re welcome,” was the last thing she heard before she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_ Darkness. _

_ Darkness. _

_ Darkness. _

_ Eyes. _

Morrigan jumped back, blood pounding in her ears.

The cold clatter of hooves echoed through the empty space as the eyes approached. The smoke that swirled around Morrigan in thick clouds slowly took the shape of a stunningly beautiful horse.

Morrigan held her breath as the mare craned its neck forward calmly, as it were waiting for something. Morrigan reached up to run a hand across its velvet nose—

—and then, in the blink of an eye, the horse became a wolf, and it bit her hand clean off.

Morrigan stumbled back with a shriek as warm blood trickled down her forearm in thick, dark rivers. She looked down at her wrist, and saw that a cluster of glimmering Wunder had taken the shape of a hand in its place, which she was able to move freely.

A ferocious snarl tore through the air, and she cradled the glowing hand to her chest, turning frantically in search of the source. For a moment, there was nothing, and then the footfalls of paws and hooves on smooth black stone grew from a distant rumble to a deafening roar.

“Morrigan.”

_ Who was that? _

“Morrigan, can you hear me?”

_ Who the Worst Place was that!? _

“Look at me.”

_ HIM. _

A loud pop made Morrigan’s ears ring. Gunshots.

“Calm down, Morrigan. It’s just me...”

_ HE CAN’T BE HERE. _

The gunshots grew more frequent. Morrigan pressed her hands to the sides of her head.

“Morrigan,” said Ezra.

“No.”

“Morrigan!” shouted... someone.

“NO!!”

“Morrigan, wake up! Please!  It’s just me! ”

Morrigan sat up, breathing heavily. “No,” she murmured. “Nonono. He’s... you...” She trailed off as she slowly came to her senses.

Jack leaned forward, staring into her eyes with worry. “Morrigan, everything’s fine. You’re still in the hospital.”

Morrigan was silent for a moment as everything fell into place.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment, and then Jack smirked.

“What?” Morrigan whined.

“Do you remember what’s happening today?”

Morrigan looked down at her hands— _both intact!_ — thoughtfully. Soon, her eyes lit up and she grinned.

Jack chuckled, and helped her out of bed.

* * *

A while later, when Morrigan had changed into a pretty black dress and grey cardigan Martha had sent her, and once Charlie had picked up a small folder full of complicated-looking forms, Morrigan stepped out into the streets of Nevermoor for the first time since That Night.

The sun was warm on her skin, and the faded hum of strangers’ conversations was like music to her ears. Morrigan took a deep breath, her chest fluttering with joy. She’d begun to grow tired of the suppressed medicinal reek of the hospital, and somehow, the city air smelled like freedom.

She was mildly startled when Jack reached a hand out to her in an inviting gesture.

“Morrigan Crow,” he said grandly. “Are you ready to come home?”

She grinned and took his hand, and for the first time in weeks, Morrigan felt alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AISKWKOAMA 100 HITS TY 😭  
> Also I now have the last chapters planned I’m so excited hbrhebwbsjsna  
> I’m sorry for taking so long on this I have a lot of schoolwork lately QvQ I promise I’ll try to do better


	11. Dawn Brings Hope

Charlie was humming a cheerful little tune, tapping on the steering wheel while he drove Morrigan and Jack to the hotel.

Morrigan sat with her chin resting on the edge of the window, eyes tracking every movement. She grinned as the familiar buildings of Nevermoor flew past.

She knew Jack was watching her intently, but she was too focused on watching the rolling streets to bat him away.

“You excited to get home?” Jack asked.

Without looking at him, Morrigan reached out and fumbled for his hand, then gave it a tight squeeze. Jack laughed. “I suppose that’s a yes.”

Morrigan closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh as they approached the only place she’d ever truly felt at home.

* * *

Morrigan stared up at the grand entrance to the Deucalion and felt the urge to cry.

Jack watched her closely, lifting his eyepatch off his face slightly. “Is everything okay...?”

Morrigan met his eyes, and nodded slightly, warmth filling her chest. “It is now.”

She took her bag from Charlie with a grateful smile and turned back to the great glass doors, preparing herself to enter.

“Oh, um... Morrigan?”

Morrigan turned to Jack and raised an eyebrow. He was fiddling with his shirt sleeve and looked very much like someone who’d been caught in a lie.

_ Oh dear,  _ thought Morrigan.

He glanced up at her, biting his lip. “Just, before you go in, there, uh, there was something I should have mayyybe mentioned...”

She gave him a confused look, and he cleared his throat.

“Uncle Jove... doesn’t exactly know you’re coming home today.”

Morrigan blinked at him. “What? So—“

“It’ll be a bit of a surprise for him. I didn’t want to tell him, ‘cause I knew he’d get all anxious...”

Morrigan glared at Jack, who gave her a sheepish grin in return. Then she laughed, and Jack looked visibly relieved.

“Better go pay him a visit, then,” she said, and she pushed open the doors to the Deucalion.

Fen was sitting at the base of the stairs, dragging a tongue across one paw gracefully. Her ears twitched as she heard the door creak, and she turned her gaze up, with her tongue still half out.

Her golden eyes met Morrigan’s and a deep rumble shook the ground. Morrigan laughed when she realised Fenestra—tough, sassy Fenestra—was purring.

* * *

The three stopped outside of Jupiter’s office.

“He’s just in here,” Fenestra said, keeping her voice low so as not to alert their target. “I’ll leave you kids to it.”

She sauntered away, and Jack and Morrigan shared a glance.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Morrigan inquired nervously. “Shouldn’t we at least give him some warning? Isn’t this mean? This feels mean.”

“Morrigan...”

“I don’t wanna be mean.”

“Morrigan, it’s fine.” Jack reached a hand towards the door and then cautiously pulled it back. “He’s... he’s gonna be really happy to see you.” He gave Morrigan a genuine smile. “Trust me.”

She did trust him. “Ready when you are.”

Tentatively, Jack extended a hand and knocked on the door. His knuckles tapped against the hollow wood with a firm  _rap-tap-tap_.  A beat of silence passed, in which both Jack and Morrigan held their breaths.

“Come in, Jack,” came a tired voice from within the office. Morrigan let out a sigh, fidgeting with the sleeve of her cardigan anxiously.

Jack stepped inside the office, pausing and motioning for Morrigan to join him. She hung back, and after rolling his eyes at her he stepped forward to greet his uncle.

“What is it?” Jupiter asked. His voice was dull and disinterested.

Morrigan peeked around the door to catch a glimpse of the scene, and her heart sunk. 

Jupiter’s ginger hair was a tangled mess, and he had an eyepatch over his left eye—just like Jack normally would have. His visible eye was highlighted by dark circles, and his skin was noticeably paler than normal.

He looked like death warmed over, and Morrigan felt overwhelmingly guilty.

“I, uh...” Jack cleared his throat. “I brought someone here to see you.”

Jupiter looked up at him, blinking wearily. He stayed silent, so Jack continued on.

“She’s this friend of mine, and, um...” Jack trailed off, and Morrigan could tell he was struggling for words. “You know what, maybe she should do the talking,” Jack finished awkwardly. “You two can...” He ducked out the room before finishing his sentence.

He gave Morrigan a shaky thumbs up, and she poked her tongue out at him as she stepped into Jupiter’s office.

Her mentor was staring down at his desk, resting his head in one hand and tapping a pen on the desk in a mismatched rhythm.

Morrigan cleared her throat and spoke in a soft voice.

“Jupiter?”

He froze, and the pen slipped from his fingers and rolled across the table. Morrigan squeezed her own hand nervously and gave an anxious grin as her patron looked up at her in shock.

“It’s great to see y— _ ack!” _

Jupiter had launched himself out of his chair and barrelled towards her, wrapping her up in a bone-crushing hug. He’d bumped against his desk in the process, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Mog!”  he cried joyfully, swinging her up into the air.

“That’d be me,” she giggled, as he set her back down.

“Y— what— how—“ Jupiter stammered. He sat down on his desk, running a hand through his hair. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were coming back?!”

“Dunno.” Morrigan shrugged. “Why didn’t they?” she added, in a much louder and sterner voice.

“Thought it’d be funny,” Jack called from the end of the hallway.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. She turned back to Jupiter. “So, uh... How are things?”

“Not the same without you, Mog,” Jupiter said, shaking his head mournfully. “Can’t tell you how pleased I am to see you.” He leaned back, shooting Morrigan a relaxed smirk. She suspected he was trying to seem as suave and faintly unreachable as he usually was, but the charade had no effect on her. She’d seen the way his eyes—well, eye, singular—had lit up when she’d entered the room.

Her gaze drifted to the eyepatch, and he cleared his throat, seeming uncharacteristically embarrassed.

“Just... helps me focus,” he mumbled vaguely, and Morrigan decided it wasn’t important. What  was  important was that he was here now, and he was safe.

She hopped up onto the desk, and he smiled, putting an arm around her. “I am really, _really_ glad you’re here, Morrigan,” he said sincerely. “We have so much to catch up on! Has Jack told you about the glitter bombs yet?”

She gave him a baffled look, and he seemed delighted. “Basically, Frank thought it would be funny to hide these little glitter bombs in the hallways—‘a bit of spice’, in his words—and Fen was  _ not  _ happy, so after a few days...”

He continued on, rambling animatedly about the events of the past few weeks, and Morrigan listened intently the whole time.

And while she was focusing on the story of the Frank vs Dame Chanda karaoke contest, she couldn’t stop thinking about how indescribably happy she was to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally made Jupiter mega-depressed whOOPS anyway  
> It’s been like. Two weeks and I don’t rlly have anything to say for myself lol sorry about that lads  
> Next chapter is also angst but thirteen is gonna be so sweet I promise! 🥺


	12. The Last Hunt

Though the bruises soon faded, the nightmares didn’t.

Most nights Morrigan would wake up in mute terror, shivering as she slowly came to grips with reality. The few nights she didn’t wake up were the nights she didn’t sleep at all.

Every so often Jupiter would come in and talk to her about them. Not just about her dreams, but his as well. He described them as fast-paced and loud, gunshots blaring in the swirling light as the world turned white with anguish. Strangely, it wasn’t himself being shot that he usually dreamed about—it was the alternative. What would have happened if he’d arrived just a moment later, if Morrigan had taken the bullet instead...

And then he’d get all awkward and quiet and that would more or less be the end of the conversation.

Morrigan’s dreams were fairly similar to his, actually. Loud noises, flashing lights, unbearable pain and then, occasionally, unending grief when things didn’t quite go to plan and Ezra got exactly what he wanted. But even though the dreams were about him, she’d never actually seen him appear. He was more of an almost tangible idea than a physical presence.

Which is how she immediately knew something was wrong when she saw him standing by the window, staring out at the blinking lights of the sleeping city.

She pressed herself against the bedpost, feeling like she might throw up.

“Relax,” Ezra said without looking at her. “This isn’t a nightmare.”

Which, of course, only made Morrigan more panicked. Having an infamous mass murderer  _actually_ standing in one’s room was not what most would call comforting.

Ezra turned, slowly, meeting her gaze with cold, hateful eyes. “Miss Crow,” he said, voice dripping with poison. “Do you actually know what you did that night?”

Morrigan shook her head, petrified.

Ezra clicked his tongue. “Of course you don’t.” He leaned back, hands in his pockets, in a pose so hauntingly similar to Jupiter’s that Morrigan wondered if he was doing it on purpose. “This is why you should have listened to me, Morrigan. I had so much to teach you, so much power you could have fulfilled... and now it’s all gone to waste,” he spat bitterly.

Morrigan blinked. “What do you mean, ‘gone to waste’?” she questioned, just barely loud enough for Ezra to hear.

Ezra sighed, falling silent for a few long moments. He then seemed to make a decision, sinking into the octopus chair next to Morrigan’s bed and shooting her a frigid glare.

“I’m not sure how you’ve done it, but you’ve managed to cleanly and absolutely strip me of my power.” He raised an eyebrow. “I have to say, I’m impressed, if not the teensiest bit murderous.”

“You’re always murderous,” Morrigan blurted. It was a sort of knee-jerk reaction, and she feared it would only lead to further aggravation from Squall, but to her great surprise—and relief—he simply shrugged.

“You’re not wrong,” he mused, “it’s just that right now I’d like to kill  _you_ specifically.”

Morrigan shuffled away slightly.

“Unfortunately, I’m still technically in Jackalfax, so that isn’t possible yet. And I can’t send the Hunt after you, either, since...” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture.

“I just...” Morrigan sighed. “I don’t understand.”

“I fear you don’t understand much, little crowling. These were the things I hoped to teach you before you quite rudely took away my only way of doing so.”

“But  how?”  Morrigan insisted. “That’s what I don’t get. I couldn’t have just... taken away your power like that. I refuse to believe it’s that easy.”

“Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be,” Ezra said. “But these were not... normal circumstances.”

The was a beat of silence. “So what happened?” Morrigan prompted.

“I’m still not certain myself,” Ezra admitted, “but may I offer you an educated guess?”

Morrigan said nothing, which he took as an invitation to continue.

“I  believe  it has something to do with the fact that  _ I  _ was trying to take  _ your  _ Wunder first,” he explained. “In that brief moment, our powers were linked. Any energy you had, I also had, and vice versa.”

Morrigan pulled back a little further, shrinking against her pillows. Ezra continued.

“The plan was to combine our powers as one and then break off your end of the connection, leaving me with all the energy. But then you had your little tantrum, wiping me out of Nevermoor entirely and leaving my Wunder here with you.”

“So...” Morrigan hesitated. “So I have your power now?”

“Maybe you do. Or maybe it vanished into the streets and some lucky housing district got free energy for a week.” He looked away. “The point is, it’s gone. I don’t have it anymore.” He was silent for a moment before muttering something Morrigan couldn’t hear.

“What was that?”

He lifted himself from the armchair and kneeled next to her bed, flashing her a thin smile. “I’m going to kill you,” he murmured in a soft, almost sing-song voice. “I’m not quite sure how yet, but I promise you now—I am going to kill you, and it is going to be excruciating, and you are going to wish, with every fibre of your being, that you’d listened to me much, much sooner.”

Morrigan’s blood ran cold.

“I could’ve given you everything, little crowling,” he pressed. “What made you choose this life?”

She sat a little straighter, arms quivering as she propped herself up with them. “It’s called morality,” she managed through a shaking voice. “Not that you would know.”

“Don’t test me, crowling.”

“You can’t...” She swallowed hard. “You can’t hurt me.”

“And that is where you are sorely mistaken.” He rested his chin in one hand, smiling at her with pure, unfiltered malice burning in his eyes. “You may have killed the Wundersmith, Morrigan Crow. But you can’t kill me.”

And just like that, he was gone.

Morrigan tightened the blankets around her, numbness crawling through the pits of her stomach. A drop of water fell onto her lap, followed by another, then another. She sat in the darkness, tears rolling silently down her face.

“... Mog?” The quiet voice startled her. “Are you alri—Morrigan?”

She glanced up at Jupiter, hiding her face. “Yeah?”

He sat in the octopus chair next to her—where Ezra had been just moments before—and took her chin in one hand, gently tilting her towards him. He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “What happened?”

Morrigan gulped. “I saw him.”

She didn’t have to say the name for Jupiter to know who she meant.

He pulled her in for a hug, and she wrapped her arms around him. “He can’t hurt you any more, Mog,” he soothed.

“What if he comes back?” she sobbed.

“We won’t let that happen. The Stink are already searching outside the Free Sate, so that they can get him locked up safely now that he’s no longer a major threat.” Jupiter smiled. “You did that, Moggers. Do you realise how many people you saved?”

“They wouldn’t have been in danger if it wasn’t for me,” she said bitterly.

“As long as Ezra Squall was in power, there was always danger.” He rubbed her shoulder. “You took that away from him, Morrigan Crow. How brilliant is that?”

He grinned at her, and she couldn’t stop a small smile from creeping onto her face.

He sat with her for the rest of the night, stroking her hair reassuringly and gently lulling her to sleep. When she did fall asleep, she was curled up against him, feeling safe and protected.

For the first night in a long time, Morrigan slept soundly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever had to sit down and read your own fic because you haven’t written in ages and forgot where you left it? Lol it’s been SO LONG and I’m very sorry, school has been crazy but we have a three week break coming up so hopefully I can get some good work in then  
> Also I know this chapter sort of seems like Jupiter x Morrigan solidarity but IT IS NOT. I can’t stress enough how gross that ship is. Like seriously how do you even... (shudders)  
> But yeah he’s just being a Good Dad and I’m gonna cry I love him so much


	13. Hotel is Where the Heart Is

Morrigan shrieked as she stared down the barrel of the gun, as she watched him pull the trigger...

... And as the cool stream of water splashed harmlessly against her face, causing her hair to stick to her forehead in thick wet clumps.

“Hawthorne!” she growled, though she was laughing. Hawthorne’s eyes widened as he sprinted away, clenching tightly to the water pistol as it were his only means of defence—which it probably would be soon.

“Oy! Morrigan!” Jack shouted. She turned her head, and saw him waving a water balloon in the air excitedly while Jupiter set down a full bucket of the colourful death bombs.

Morrigan raced over and grabbed a purple balloon out of the bucket. She tossed it from one hand to another and then locked onto her target, taking careful aim in Hawthorne’s direction. She tossed it as hard as she could and missed, instead dousing Thaddea who was crouching behind him.

“Oh, you are  _ so  _ gonna pay,” Thaddea said eagerly, reaching for another bucket of balloons that Martha had just brought over.

Soon it was all-out warfare, rainbow grenades sailing through the air while Francis vainly attempted to shoot them down with a water pistol. Archan pelted a balloon at Cadence, and she jumped up to catch it midair. It popped in her hand, soaking her forearm, but Archan still seemed impressed. 

Even the hotel staff were beginning to join in the fun—Jupiter had just pointed a water gun at Fen, then quickly lowered it when she hissed at him menacingly.

After several minutes of battling, laughing, and yelling until her throat went hoarse, Morrigan found herself sitting on the ground by the pool, feet dangling in the water, with Hawthorne and Cadence sitting on either side of her. Jack was reclining in a unicorn shaped pool floatie a little way away, and the three took it upon themselves to kick water in his direction until they could bully him into joining them.

The rest of Unit 919 slowly converged around the edges of the swimming pool, equipped with brightly coloured popsicles courtesy of Martha. Banter filled the air as they shared jokes and stories, followed by some anxious scrambling when Thaddea was mysteriously pushed into the pool. Fenestra—who Morrigan had seen give Thaddea a sharp nudge with her tail—watched with a smug aura as the red-haired girl squinted suspiciously at her friends before eventually pulling them all in with her.

Morrigan leaned back with a sigh, using her shoulders to support herself against the damp brick. The summer sunlight warmed her skin in a way that sunk right into her bones and left her with a feeling of golden bliss.

Jupiter sunk down into a lounge chair behind her, ruffling her wet hair affectionately.

“Lovely weather today, eh, Mogster?” he said, resting his chin in his hand.

Morrigan snorted. “Thousands of possible topics for conversation, and you choose the weather?”

Jupiter shrugged. “Give me some credit, Moggers! I’ll bet I could make any conversation about weather interesting if I chose to.”

“Then do it,” Morrigan insisted.

Jupiter scrunched up his face. “Mmm. Don’t want to,” he decided. Morrigan rolled her eyes as he flashed her a grin.

“I’ll do it!” Hawthorne piped. “Okay, um. Did you know that, according to legend, if you see a herd of caribou, it means there’s gonna be a storm soon?”

Cadence pulled a skeptical face. “I... don’t think that’s correct.”

“Definitely incorrect,” Jack chimed.

Hawthorne glanced at them both, shoulders quivering as he tried not to prematurely laugh at his own joke.

“Of course it’s true,” Hawthorne scoffed. “Why else would they be called rain-deer?”

It was probably the worst joke she’d ever heard, but despite herself, Morrigan couldn’t help but be amused. She laughed, deeply and sincerely, as Hawthorne gave her a cheeky grin while Cadence punched him in the arm with a playful smirk etched on her face.

While Jack splashed Hawthorne in aggravation, Morrigan suddenly dropped out of the world. For a brief moment, everything went dull and quiet, her friends’ voices becoming a muffled buzz as their faces blurred.

She sat there, not feeling, not thinking, before blinking rapidly, the world gradually fading back into view. Cadence and Hawthorne had both jumped into the water, and Jupiter was now kneeling next to her, bright blue eyes filled with concern.

Morrigan shook herself. “I’m fine,” she said quietly, and then she cleared her throat. “I’m... I’m okay. I’ll be okay,” she said with a little more confidence. She stared down at the water.

Jupiter smiled warmly. “You know, Morrigan... I’m really proud of you.”

Morrigan looked up at him in surprise.

“The last few weeks have been difficult for most of us. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through,” he continued sympathetically. “But whatever’s happening, however you’re feeling... you’re still here. You’ve been through so much and you’ve pulled through time and time again, and for that, you’re quite possibly the strongest person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing.”

“I’m not that strong,” she muttered. “I lost control of my own power and nearly... I...” Her voice softened as she gripped the reality of the situation. “I could’ve died.”

Jupiter put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her protectively. “But you’re still here, aren’t you?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Yeah.” She stared down at her hands. “I guess I am.”

He patted her on the back. “You have a gift, Morrigan Crow.”

She gave him a baffled look as he rose to his feet. “Of being a Wundersmith?”

“No,” he said as he stared down at her, eyes shining with paternal affection. “The gift of being young. The gift,” he continued, gesturing to Morrigan’s friends, “of living. So go make the most of it.”

He smiled once more, giving Morrigan a supportive thumbs-up, and then he walked away.

Morrigan turned back to her friends, for once feeling safe and relaxed.

All was well. The danger was finally gone, for now.

The Wundersmith was dead, and Morrigan was to blame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HBRJHKLRBR IT IS FINISHED  
> Thank you all SO MUCH for reading this. Writing this fic has been so much fun and I’m so glad I could share it with all of you.  
> From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I really mean it.  
> Now I get to move on to other projects yeehaw! I might take a few weeks of radio silence (or maybe post a few one shots or chatfic chapters) before  
> moving onto the next long project.  
> Once again, thank you so much for being here with me. This fandom seriously means the world to me and I’m eternally grateful that I get to be here to watch it grow.  
> You guys are awesome. Stay Wundrous 💖


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